Taxi driver appears in court over Facebook photo of breastfeeding passenger that caused uproar in Hong Kong

A Hong Kong taxi driver accused of taking a photograph of a breastfeeding passenger and uploading her picture to Facebook appeared in court on Friday – 18 months after the photo first came to light.

Atlex Chow Lik-sing, 50, pleaded not guilty at West Kowloon Court to one count of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest gain for oneself or another.

The photo caused an uproar and drew criticism from breastfeeding advocates, political parties, and government officials, when it was first circulated online in December 2016.

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Within days, the police arrested the driver, Chow, after tracing his location through his internet use.

Prosecutors alleged the offence, which is punishable by up to five years in prison, took place on December 2, 2016, when Chow obtained access to a smartphone with a view to taking one of more photographs of a breastfeeding woman.

The number of photographs eventually found on the phone has not been made public.

The Sham Shui Po resident pleaded not guilty before acting Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee.

A pretrial review is scheduled for August 13, and Chow was released on HK$500 (US$64) cash bail.